Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

CLAY

“So, Clay,” Aether says, appearing at my side and cutting off what Storm is telling me about social media. “We have some stuff to talk about.”

River’s eyes go wide, and Storm says, “Really? Now? Really?”

I glance from face to face uncertainly, then up at George. He’s glowering, his arms folded across his chest.

“D-Did I do something wrong?” I ask Aether. “I’m sorry. I c-can go.”

“Stay there, honey,” Perry says firmly, then rounds on his boyfriend. “What’s with you today? Could you have made that sound any more ominous?”

Aether sighs, then pulls a rueful face. “I’m sorry, Clay. I’m off-balance because I thought everything was the way it should be, but then I found out George messed it up. You’ve done nothing wrong, and we don’t want you to go. That’s the opposite of what we want.” He smiles wide at me, then drops to sit on the grass beside my chair.

“Wait, are we having the talk with Clay?” Bran calls from the firepit. “I thought we were going to wait!”

“You wanted to wait,” Aether corrects. “I think now is a good time.”

Would anyone notice if I left? This is… weird.

“Could you all stop talking as if you’re planning to keep him against his will?” George growls. “You’re scaring him!”

My spine stiffens. “I’m not scared.” I kind of am. “What talk?”

“We want you to join us in the fight to save the planet,” Aether declares grandly.

I wait, but that seems to be it. “Um. Okay? I mean, I try to recycle and be a responsible consumer. I grow my own vegetables, too, and Penny and I are going to learn how to can them.”

“That’s great,” Storm says encouragingly. “But Aether means he wants you to join the team at Conservation Kings.”

He has to be joking. “Huh?”

“You’re doing this wrong,” Flame says impatiently, coming over to crouch on my other side. “Clay, Conservation Kings is a marketing schtick that we set up to help us reach more people. Our goal is to promote?—”

“Awareness and education,” I finish. “I know. I follow you guys. I think you’re doing a great job.” I shake my head. “But I don’t know what I could do to help you. Aether knows more about plants than I ever will, and I’d be terrible on camera anyway.”

“Mmm,” Storm hums, “I disagree. But if you don’t want to do videos, you don’t have to. I already have some ideas for what you can bring to the table. You have a perspective that Aether can never have.”

I’m so confused.

“Getting back to the point,” Flame insists, “Conservation Kings is a means, and it helps our purpose, but we have other means, as well.”

Is he talking about something illegal?

He must see my sudden trepidation on my face, because he makes a sound of frustration. “Do you trust George?” he asks. “Trust that he would never let you come to harm?”

I glance up at George’s scowling face. Before, I would have said yes in a heartbeat, but today has been the craziest, most befuddling experience of my life.

Still… it’s George. “Yes.”

“Great. George, stay right there. Clay, look over at the firepit.”

I look. The fire is crackling away merrily, and I might not be an expert on cooking over an open flame, but even I know it’s going to be a while before it dies down enough for us to grill. “It’s a very nice fire,” I say, because I feel like I need to say something.

“Thank you. Keep watching.”

Um… sure. Okay, I can wat?—

I blink. Hard. Because that fire is shrinking. It’s dying down steadily, and now it’s nothing more than embers and a couple of charred logs.

“Wh—” I clear my throat. “What just happened?”

“I did that,” Flame advises. “Flame isn’t just a screen name. It’s my actual name that I chose for myself when I incarnated. I’m the essence of fire, and I’m here because humans have had too big of an impact on the planet in too short of a time. My job—all our jobs—is to help restore some balance before it’s too late and humans become extinct.”

I keep staring at the firepit. “When Aether said he wanted me to join you, I thought he was asking for a donation.”

“We’re self-funded,” Bran says, his tone cautious. “Clay? Are you… okay?”

Scratching my head, I turn to look at George again. “That’s why you were hanging around the quarry three years ago. You’re rocks. Or… stone.”

“My element is earth,” he says quietly, eyes intent on my face. “But yes, I have an affinity with rocks and stone, and that’s why I was at the quarry.”

Sure. That makes sense. “Why is your name George?”

A chair creaks as someone shifts. I think they’re nervous that I’m not freaking out. The truth is, I noticed before that whenever George is around while I’m working, or if he’s helping me, the plants do just that tiny bit better in the long run. It checks out that he’s been doing something to the soil to help them grow.

“We’ve lived a lot of lives,” George explains. “I couldn’t think of a name this time around that represented my element and wasn’t stupid.”

I tilt my head. “Stone? Flint?”

“He used Stone once, and Perry called him Pebble,” Aqua reports gleefully. “Can we go swimming now?”

“In a minute,” I assure him. “Can you make it calmer out there for me? I’m not that strong a swimmer.” I was actually planning to just paddle in the shallows, but?—

Aqua beams. “I can! You’ll be swimming in your own patch of perfectly calm water. I wouldn’t let you drown, anyway,” he assures me. “I like you.”

“Thank you.” I look back at George. “I like Pebble. You should have chosen that.”

“Why?” Perry asks intently. “I made it up to tease him.”

I shake my head. “Maybe, but every little pebble is part of the whole, right? We use them a lot in gardens, and they’re pretty much everywhere else. Just because they’re not as showy as boulders doesn’t mean they’re not important and shouldn’t be given the same respect and value.” I wince. Am I really on my soapbox over pebbles ?

Part of me can’t help comparing the insignificant pebble to myself, though. I’ve been overlooked and passed over and bullied so many times for not being something else. Stronger, faster, more confident. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my place in the world, though. I matter. And so do pebbles.

I may be having some kind of mental break.

George is still watching me. “You can call me Pebble, if you want,” he offers. “But if Perry and the others do it, I’m breaking their heads.”

Perry sniffs. “Rude.”

“Let’s go swimming,” I suggest. “You can tell me the rest at the beach.” Maybe the salt water will wash away this weird sense of detachment I’m currently experiencing.

“I’ll stay here,” Flame says. “Get the fire going again.”

Bran snorts. “He doesn’t like swimming.”

“Is water like kryptonite for you?” I ask seriously. “Does it hurt?” What would hurt George, then? Air? No, he breathes just like I do.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Flame assures me. “It just feels wrong. I don’t like it.”

“He’s a whiny baby,” Aqua says. “Everyone knows water is the best. You don’t hear kids begging to go to a forest fire the way they beg to go to the beach or a lake. Or pool.”

“Let’s not start this argument again,” Perry suggests. “Flame can stay here, and when we get back, the fire will be ready for us to cook.” He gives Flame a narrow-eyed stare. “You have one hour to play.”

It might take more than just being splashed with salt water to bring me back to reality.

“It all kind of makes sense,” I muse, floating beside Perry in a perfectly flat area of the ocean, while around us, waves crash like they usually do.

“I’m glad you think so,” he says dryly. “The reactions have been mixed so far.”

“No, really,” I insist. “Why wouldn’t the world have elemental spirits looking after it? Most living things have a consciousness, so it makes sense that the planet itself does too.”

“It doesn’t exactly work like that,” Perry begins, but I wave him off, sinking a little as I do.

“Oh, I know. But it still makes sense. It’s really nice of you all to try to save humans, though. We don’t really deserve it.”

Perry sighs. “I wish I could disagree, but as a species, we do kind of suck.”

“Yeah. I’ll help,” I add. “I don’t know what I can do, though. I think Aether is better at the whole plant thing than I can ever be, since he’s the actual essence of life.” I stare up at the blue, blue sky above me and resist the urge to let my eyes drift closed. Even if Aqua is keeping an eye on me, I’m not confident enough to float blindly in the ocean.

“Like we said, you have a perspective on plants that Aether doesn’t, because you’re human,” Perry reminds me. “That’s why I exist—he’s the essence of life, but I’m the one who’s lived .”

I nod, and sink a little again. It’s kind of nice, the way the water boosts me back to the surface. It’s never done that before, and it makes me feel looked after. “True. Okay, I’ll trust that you all can find a use for me. I like the idea of serving a greater purpose, anyway.”

“Hmm. So, uh… do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

Trepidation swims briefly in my chest. I don’t think Perry would be mean to me, but I don’t want to talk about the fact that I have no friends or life outside of work, Penny, and George. “S-Sure.”

“How do you feel about George?”

Water covers my face as I flail, and when the ocean boosts me back up, I sputter.

“You gotta lie still,” Aqua calls from somewhere off to our left. “It’s still water!”

I cough. “Sorry!”

“I startled you,” Perry says remorsefully. “I didn’t mean to?—”

“It’s fine. I was just surprised. That wasn’t what I expected you to say.” I stare up at the sky again, blinking away the droplets of water that cling to my lashes. “Um… what do you mean, exactly? About George? He’s one of my best friends.” I like the way that makes it sound as though I have lots of friends.

“I know that. He says the same about you,” Perry assures me. “I guess I was wondering if maybe you might feel something more than friendship.”

He knows. He knows . I blink back tears. “I… I thought I was hiding it better,” I whisper.

“What was that? I can’t hear you.”

I clear my throat. “Please don’t tell him,” I manage. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship. I swear, I won’t let this?—”

“Oh my god, you’re as bad as he is.” Perry cuts me off with a disbelieving groan. “No. No. I will not allow this to happen. I’m not some kind of agony aunt, dammit! You’re both adults, and you need to learn to communicate like adults.”

A whimper escapes me. “Please, Perry. I can’t lose him from my life. I-I don’t have many people.”

He swears, and his voice becomes softer. “You’re not going to lose George.”

Does that mean he’s going to keep my secret? “He can’t ever know.”

Perry sighs, then calls, “Aqua, take us to shore.”